ISHLT Registry Data and Country Registries: Comparison of reported European Lung Transplant Activities in 2016

Background: The International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) reported data from 258 global lung transplant centers in 2016. Participation in the ISHLT Registry is optional for non-US countries. Data submission to the ISHLT registry is estimated to represent approximately 80% of worldwide thoracic transplant activity (1). The aim of this data review was to characterize the total annual number of lung transplants in Europe as reported by each country, and to correlate it with the ISHLT Registry data. Method: As 2016 is the most recent year with available data, systematic review of international registry (2) and national (3-11) reports stating 2016 lung transplant activities as well as Scandia Transplant (12) and Eurotransplant (13) were screened. Data from Israel was sourced from personal communication. Data was structured per country. Results: The ISHLT registry reported 1687 lung transplants in Europe in 2016. From national reports as well as Scandia Transplant and Eurotransplant reports of lung transplant activities 2034 transplants were identified in 2016. This represents 347 lung transplants (20.6%) more than what is stated in the ISHLT registry. Conclusion: There is an identified gap of approximately 20% between the total number of transplants in the European data submitted to the ISHLT registry and the country specific reported data for 2016. This number underestimates the total number of lung transplant procedures, as there are some European countries where 2016 data was not available for review.